Today teams had to complete the obligatory paperwork and gear check as usual, then with that out of the way it was over to some trees beside the race hotel where the Ropes Safety staff had set up ropes to test the athletes climbing skills. The race course is rumoured to have some fairly serious sections of ascending (where the teams will use special equipment to pull themselves and their gear UP the ropes), so there was a real emphasis on making sure everyone was familiar with the techniques and equipment - quite a few teams chose to come back later in the day to practise! Most of the top ranked teams were lucky enough to get this over with in the morning before the heat really kicked in, leaving the afternoon free for some food shopping and gear preparation (otherwise known as pre-race faffing!).
OrionHealth.com are in good spirits and are looking pretty organised. We even went out for a sightseeing run this evening! The one big problem so far is the continuing absence of Nathan's bike box (which also has his inline skates, paddle and pfd). We have arranged to borrow most of the missing gear from other teams and the friend of one of the racers who lives near Avila - but we still hope the bike box will turn up tomorrow!! Orion are not the only team to have had gear missing en route to the race - Silva had a bike left behind in Stckholm, Nathan Fa'avae from team Blackwater had his bike arrive late this afternoon after a wee stopover in Heathrow, and there have been at least 3-4 other bikes which have 'turned up' at various places around Madrid Airport and be delivered to their anxious owners at the race hotel today.
The schedule for tomorrow has the team packing their gear into the race-supplied drums, before a procession through the town of Avila to the race briefing where they will finally hear what the next few days hold in store. All we know so far is that the race starts in the centre of Avila, surrounded by 12th centuary fortified walls and narrow cobbled streets. We will keep you posted!
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